FDA sends warning letters to online opioid networks

On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent warning letters to nine online marketers, stating that they must stop the unauthorized sale of opioids via the internet. Reuters reported that these networks operate up to 53 websites.

The otherwise known as FDA is an agency part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The agency has stated its mission, saying: “[the FDA] protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.”

Through a press release, an FDA regulator stated that the agency is attempting to combat unauthorized sales of opioid drugs by going to the sources of the supplies themselves. Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D, announced publicly the FDA’s decision, stating:

The FDA is taking additional steps to protect U.S. consumers from illicit opioids by targeting the websites that illegally market them and other illicit drugs. The internet is virtually awash in illegal narcotics and we’re going to be taking new steps to work with legitimate internet firms to voluntarily crack down on these sales. As part of that effort, we’re hosting a summit with internet stakeholders to find new ways to work collaboratively with them to address these issues. At the same time, we’ll be taking action against firms whose websites deliberately break the law,”

These operations come in face of the increasing opioid crisis in the U.S., and those drugs can be found both online and in pharmacies, which the FDA stressed in its statement. They mentioned that the networks recipient of the letters are contributing to the opioid crisis, and focused in stressing the negative effects opioid drugs can have on its users. Their statement read: “The boxed warnings address risks including addiction, abuse, misuse, life-threatening respiratory depression (breathing problems) and neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (withdrawal symptoms in newborn babies)”. They also stated that the online sell of opioid drugs can have repercussions beyond health issues, such as “credit card fraud, identity theft, and computer viruses.”

The agency reminded the public, through its statement, of the upcoming Online Opioid Summit, where several officials, thought-leaders, government entities, academic researchers and activists will discuss ways of limiting the access to opioid drugs through the internet.  It will be held on June 27th.